What are Aromatics?
I have used the term “aromatics” frequently in my posts, so I thought it was high time I explained it in more detail. Aromatics are simply vegetables that have a lot of flavor and aroma that can persist throughout long cooking times. Different regions of the world have different combinations that are traditional, but the concept is always the same: create a base of flavors that you can build on with other ingredients.
Armatics are used to flavor everything from soups, sauces and stews to stuffings and casseroles. The earliest mention of the subject that I have heard of is the mixture called Mirepoix, named for the town in which it was first used. It is a simple mixture of chopped onion, carrot and celery in a 2:1:1 ratio by weight. It is sauteed in butter and used as a flavor base for soups. Sometimes bacon or ham is added to this to make Mirepoix gras.
The “Trinity” is another combination which is used in Mediterranean (most notably Portuguese and Italian), Cajun and Creole cooking, which replaces the carrots with green bell peppers. The peppers give this mixture a very distinctive flavor, which is a bit more savory and not quite as sweet.
So what vegetables qualify as aromatics? There is no real hard and fast rule, but the basic guidelines are as follows: It should have a lot of aroma (hence the name aromatics!) as well as flavor; the flavor and aroma should remain after cooking; the flavor should be extractble by sauteeing or “sweating”.
Aside from the vegetable already mentioned, there are others that are used, often as replacments for the more common vegetables. Leeks, green onions and shallots are often used in place of onions, although they do not stand up quite as well as onions do to long cooking times. Shallots, especially, react poorly to extended heat, but for shorter cooking times they allow for a gentler flavor than onions give.
Fennel root is a nice replacement for celery. Not quite as strongly flavored, it adds a distinctive licorice taste that matches well with a lot of other flavors, making it a great addition to many aromatic combinations.
Garlic is indispensible in flavor bases, so it is frequently added to many aromatic combinations. However, garlic burns easily so I usually add it about halfway into the sweating stage.
Chili peppers make for a great addition to or replacement for bell peppers, and a fantastic way to introduce some heat early in the cooking process. Just be careful!!
If you want a really uniquely-flavored aromatic compound, add some chopped parsnip. This earthy vegetable goes a long way, so you will not need a lot to make a big impact. Turnips, to a lesser degree, can do the same thing.
Oriental cooking provides some interesting aromatics, most of which work better in shorter cooking times. I am not familiar with many Asian ingredients, but a couple that have made their way into mainstream Western cooking are ginger and lemon grass. Ginger, garlic and onion are a traditional Indian flavor base, while garlic, ginger and chili peppers are very common in Szechuan cooking, a particulary fiery regional style of Chinese cooking. Lemon grass is often used with other local ingredients in Thai cooking, but to be perfectly honest I am not really familiar with the other ingredients. I do know they use chili peppers and a local variant of basil, as well as lime; I also know that I LOVE Thai food, but I have not learned how to make it yet. This will be corrected in ther near future!
All aromatics can be used in the same way to create a flavor base. The process is simple: First, chop the aromatics finely in order to extract the most flavor possible. Next, heat some butter or oil in your pot or pan. Try to match the butter or oil with the type of dish you are making: Olive oil for Italian cooking, butter for most French cooking, peanut oil for Oriental. Once the oil or butter is heated, put your chopped aromatics in, and add some salt. Salt is important, because it helps extract moisture, and with it the flavor of the vegetables.
It is best to use relatively low heat, as we are not aiming to “cook” the vegetables so much as to coax the flavor out of them. If we cook them too quickly we will either lock the flavor inside the vegetables, or perhaps even change the flavor by carmelizing them. Not all vegetables react well to this, and it is not the goal in building a flavor base anyway. If you want to carmelize the vegetables, that is all right, but it won’t be the same result.
When the vegetables are done, they will be soft and slightly translucent. At this point you have gotten as much flavor from them as you are likely to get. At this point you can either strain off the butter or oil and toss the vegetables (often done with broths and soups) or keep the vegetables as I do. One other thing that is done, usually only with soups, is to pour ice-cold water on them before adding any other ingredients. Not a lot, but just enough to completely stop the cooking process. I have done this and I can attest to the fact that it does give you a slightly “fresher” tasting base, as the vegetables do not get over cooked. Whether or not you do this will depend on the kind of result you are after, and whether you feel like going to the extra effort. Frankly I do not feel it is enough of a difference to make it worthwhile, but you may find differently. It might be a good idea when making a fresh spring-time type of soup with lots of greens, but certainly not for a rich, autumnal hearty soup.
If you experiment with Aromatics, I am certain you will end up with some favorite combinations that you can use to build on in various recipes. If you have questions or comments, feel free to post them, especially if you can fill in some of the holes in the Asian ingredients!
Yours in Good Taste,
Erik Christensen